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I am happy to share the species list put together by David Wimpfheimer, Steve Howell and Jules Evens for the trip. If you have any pictures to share, please send them my way! We would love to share them in our next program newsletter and on the Birding Festival website.

Seventh leg of Alvaro’s Adventures pelagic trip to SF waters. Again, all is SF County waters. Fur Seals – 14. Note that some may have been Guadalupe Fur Seals based on a photo I took, but I am not certain. Humpback Whale – 1.

Species

8 species total

10

Black-footed Albatross

45

Pink-footed Shearwater

40

Buller’s Shearwater

15

Sooty Shearwater

1000

Ashy Storm-Petrel

There may have been more. Various flocks, sitting on water and then flying off to re-sit. Amazingly, the flocks were uniform and no white rumped birds or larger birds present. So all were Ashy! That is unusual as often the flocks have a few other species mixed in.

2

Pomarine Jaeger

First cycle and second cycle?

1

Guadalupe Murrelet

Others have better photos than mine. White goes above eye, connects to white eyelid. Based on Jehl’s score, a “1” so not the whitest faced type, but still whiter faced than birds considered intermediates (given a “2”, have no white above eye, no connection to white top eye crescent).

10

Western Gull

Are you submitting a complete checklist of the birds you were able to identify?

An unexpected rarity on our pelagic out of Half Moon Bay was a Bay-breasted Warbler! It circled the boat several times but never landed, yet it came in close enough that some folks could see the pinkish on the flanks. This was in San Mateo county, photos of the bird in flight are here:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alvaros-Adventures/201287513297811

Other highlights included Brown Boobies in San Francisco and San Mateo counties, plumage as well as facial features clarified that two birds were involved. We saw few storm petrels, but three species including Black, Ashy and Wilson’s and all three in both counties. All three jaegers showed up, and three South Polar Skuas, several Sabine’s Gulls and Common as well as Arctic Tern. The jaeger, Sabine’s show was the best we have seen this season. One Common Tern was right inshore, it would have been visible from shore off Miramar! Buller’s Shearwaters have been very scarce, only one appeared but Black-vented was pretty common inshore with many nice views close to Half Moon Bay. A gorgeous Tufted Puffin was seen on the way in, only 6 miles from shore. Two pods of Long-beaked Common Dolphin, Risso’s Dolphin, Humpback Whale and five species of pinniped (seals and sea lions). All on smooth and calm seas!